Sloane Stephens mounted a comeback to reach the Australian Open qualifying final round after beating home player Olivia Gadecki 3-6 6-3 6-3.
The American, who is currently ranked at No. 1097 in the world, snapped her 13-match losing streak by beating Barbora Palicova 6-1 7-5 in her qualifying opener at Melbourne Park.
After clinching her first win since 2024 Wimbledon, Stephens entered the Gadecki match aiming to earn back-to-back wins for the first time since April 2024.
It didn't start well for the 2017 US Open champion, who fell down by an early break and ended up losing the first set.
Down by a set, Stephens found herself in danger of also falling down by a break early in the second set. However, the former world No. 3 managed to fend off Gadecki's pressure as she saved a total of five break points across her opening three service games in the second set. Then, the American claimed her first break of the match in the sixth game before serving out for the second set in the ninth game.
In the decider, the American's level dropped at the start of the set and she dropped the first two games, but impressively responded by winning six of the next seven games to complete a three-set comeback.
One to go for Sloane 🇺🇸@SloaneStephens fights back from a set down to defeat Gadecki 3-6 6-3 6-3 to move into the final round of qualifying 👏@wwos • @espn • @tntsports • @wowowtennis • #AO26 pic.twitter.com/DHcc9lww6m
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 14, 2026
Who Stephens needs to beat to reach the Australian Open main draw?
In the Australian Open qualifying final round, Stephens will play against world No. 106 Lucia Bronzetti. The two have played only once in the past as the Italian thrashed the former world No. 3 6-1 6-1 in 2023 Rabat. However, it should be noted that the Rabat match was played on clay.
Stephens is finally finding some momentum after struggling for a long time and it would definitely be a major confidence booster for the 32-year-old to qualify for the Australian Open.
